Welcome to the HHELP Help System

If you are a new user and would like a tutorial on how the Help System works, move your mouse until the cursor is over the word TUTORIAL (coloured dark blue below). Then press the left mouse button.

TUTORIAL

TIP: For Microsoft Windows users, the HHELP Help System is very similar to Windows Help.

Reference Information:

How to:

Start and stop the Help System

Manipulate Help System windows

Move around the Help File

Use the Help System with programs and data files

Menu Commands:

File

Bookmark

Help

Capture window menu

Buttons:

Contents

Search

Browse Buttons

Notes:

On graphics

On available help files

Help System Colours


HHELP Help System Tutorial

Congratulations. You have learned the basic step of the Help System - jumping from topic to topic. Any text coloured dark blue is a jump. Move the cursor over it and press the left mouse button, and you will jump to a new help topic related to that text.

Topics are the main unit of a help file. Each one contains information about a different aspect of the program or application that the help file is associated with. The name of a help topic always appears at the top of the text and is coloured white.

Try another jump, by moving the cursor over Help System Colours below and pressing the left mouse button:

Help System Colours


Pop-Ups and Graphics

The other main tool of help systems is the pop-up. Pop-ups are similar to jumps but only bring up temporary information, often definitions or reminders. All pop-ups are coloured yellow. Select the pop-up below for more. (Remember, to select, move the mouse until the cursor is on what you want to select, then press the left mouse button.)

POPUP

Some help files can reference graphics files by calling them up to view in the specified graphics viewer program. To try this, select the magenta-on-black text below.

$IMAGE.

In order for the graphic to display, you must define a viewer program in the [Viewer] section of the HHELP.INI file. The viewer program you supply will display those images in the help file defined with a $ in the first position. The $ will be ignored, and the image will be searched for as IMAGE.* in the path given in the [GraphicPath] section of HHELP.INI.

To learn more, select to jump to All These Windows


Help System Colours

All jumps in the Help System are dark blue. Other colours represent different things:

Black is used for regular text

White is used for topic headings

Yellow is used for POP-UP hotspots (more on those later)

Dark Yellow is used to keys the user types in

Dark Magenta is used for headings and highlights

Dark Red is used for notes and warnings

Dark Green is not used much.

Magenta text on a black background indicates a graphic that can be seen with the graphic viewer you specify in the [Viewer] section of the HHELP.INI file. (This is a non-working example. Working samples will appear later.)

To continue the tutorial, move the cursor over Mouse and Key commands below and press the left mouse button:

Mouse and Key Commands


Very Good

Yes, this one really IS a pop-up. You must be an inquisitive user. Hit any key or click with the mouse to make this message go away.


Mouse and Key Commands

Note: some help topics are too long to appear completely in the window. More text can be viewed by moving the mouse cursor over the blue bar and  the up and down arrow characters (this is the scroll bar) near the right window border and pressing the left mouse button.

For the rest of the tutorial, follow these instructions:

All key combinations for you to press are indicated in dark yellow.

Special case examples:

ALT+G	A plus means hold down the first key and hit the second.

ALT,H,A	Commas between key presses indicate to press and release the keys in order.

These instructions apply to the mouse:

Point:

Position the mouse pointer/cursor over the indicated item

Click:

Press and release the LEFT mouse button

Select:

Point and then click on an item. Sometimes called clicking on an item.

Double-select:

Point to the indicated item and click twice. Sometimes called double clicking on an item.

Drag:

Point to an item and then hold down the mouse button while moving the mouse

Any instructions requiring the RIGHT mouse button will be explicitly stated.

Remember, to quit the tutorial type ALT+X

From here we move to Pop-ups and Graphics


Welcome to the Pop-up

Pop-ups pop up in temporary windows like this to provide brief reference information. Temporary pop-up windows can also contain jumps and further pop-ups, each of which, when selected, make the original pop-up window disappear. To close a pop-up, hit any key, or click the mouse.


All These Windows

The next thing to know about using the help system is windows.

When the help system becomes active, the current screen is captured - a picture of it is taken, and it is put in a window similar to the one this help file is in, called the capture window. The help file window appears on top of this captured screen window. These windows are very similar to Microsoft Windows windows.

While the help system is operating, you can not use your application, although you may be able to see some text on the screen behind the capture window and the help window. It is easy to be tricked into thinking your program is still operating, because the captured screen in the window looks exactly like your application screen - but it is not. The capture window is a context sensitive help screen, which you will learn about soon.

For now, use these pop-ups for information on windows:

Changing the size of a window

Moving a window

Scrolling through windows

Switching between windows

Closing A Window

Try each of these tasks after reading the information. Remember - to close a pop-up, hit any key, or click the mouse.

When finished with windows, move on to Context Sensitivity


Closing a Window

To close the active window (the one you clicked in most recently), select the square dot in the upper left border of the window. Closing all help file windows quits the help system. Typing ALT+X also quits. Note once the capture window or the help window is closed, there is no way to open it again without leaving the help system. If just one of them is closed, the help system will continue to operate, but you will not be able to jump from one to the other using context sensitive help features (explained later on).


Moving a window

To move a window around the screen, move the cursor to the top border of a window. The border is the white, double-lined part. Do a drag operation (press and hold the button, then move the mouse) to move the window.


Changing the size of a window

There are two ways. The first is to drag the left, right or bottom of the window (the double-lined white part only). Remember dragging is pressing and holding the mouse button, then moving the mouse. To resize the horizontal and vertical size at the same time, grab a corner and drag it.

The second is to use the up-arrow and down-arrow characters on the upper right border of any window. Selecting the up-arrow maximizes the window to fill the screen. Selecting the down-arrow minimizes the window to a small box in the lower left-hand corner.

After maximizing or minimizing, the two arrows become one dot. Selecting the dot will return the window to the previous size.


Switching between windows

Only one window can be active at a time. The active window is always the one in front, and is the one you clicked in most recently. Non-active windows will not respond to commands. To switch to another window, select it. (Move the cursor to it with the mouse and click). If the window you want is completely hidden behind the active window, the active window will have to be moved or resized to reveal the window you want.

See Changing the size of a window

To cycle through all the available windows, use ALT+ESC or the F2 key.


Scrolling

Sometimes all the information in a file does not fit into the window. More information can be seen by selecting the up, down, left and right arrow characters separated by a blue bar. This is the scroll bar and the scroll arrows. These items will scroll the text in the window up, down, left or right, revealing more information. If there is no scroll bar, then there is no more information in this topic - it is all in the window.

The PAGE-UP and PAGE-DOWN keys will move a screen at a time.


Context Sensitivity

If a topic is very long, to see it all, remember to scroll by selecting the arrows on the window border. To print the topic out for future reference, type ALT+F,P. This is the print topic command under the file menu, which may also be reached with the mouse by selecting the File menu (where it says File in the window) and then the print option, which will appear beneath the File menu when it is selected.

The HHELP Help System uses the capture window to provide context sensitive help. Context sensitive means precision help is available depending on what you are doing at the time.

Choose How Context Sensitivity Works


How Context Sensitivity Works

Here is how it works: When you activate the window containing the captured screen, and move the cursor across the text, certain text is highlighted in cyan (light blue). Highlighting means the text is referenced in the help file. If text is highlighted, pressing the LEFT mouse button will automatically activate the help window and display the first topic with information about the highlighted text. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button will bring up an index window with information about the selected text.

Continue with The Index Window


The Index Window

The index window is the same window activated by selecting the search button in the help window. It has a list of keywords that you can scroll through by selecting the scroll arrows or scroll bar. There is also a box for entering keywords you wish to search for. The BACKSPACE key removes characters from this box. When you see the desired keyword in the list, select it. You will be presented with a list of topics in the bottom part of the window. Choose among the list of help topics that is displayed below by selecting one. This activates the help window, with the topic you have selected in the window.

Using the captured screen for context sensitive help is the quickest and most accurate way to find information in a help file. Nearly any commands on the screen of a program that has a help file will be referenced, and from there it is a direct jump to information about that command.

Continue with More on Context Sensitivity

Remember ALT+X quits the help system.


More on Context Sensitivity

Context sensitive help can also be used with data files. If there is a path and filename in the capture window (for example C:\DOS\MYFILE), moving the cursor over it will highlight it in magenta (light purple) and pressing the RIGHT mouse button will load that file into a new window. You can move the cursor through this file to highlight keywords exactly as you can with the original captured screen, and jump to the help file in the same way. Computer memory is the only limit to the number of data files and windows that may be opened this way.

The best way to learn about context sensitive help is to try using it with an application. For that, you will have to quit this tutorial, start an application that has a help file, and then re-enter the help system, capturing your application screen and searching it. When you enter the help system from an application, the help file for that application automatically appears.

For these steps, see Finishing the Tutorial


Finishing the Tutorial

If from here you wish to try the context sensitive features of the HHELP Help System, you will have to quit, start an application and then restart help.

To QUIT help: type ALT+X

To RESTART help: open your application, then type ALT+?.

NOTE: As you try the context sensitive features, you can call up this file for help by typing ALT+H, H, or selecting the Help menu and the How to Use choice from that menu.

If you wish to return to the start of the tutorial and examine the reference information, see below.

The buttons at the top of the help window - the text boxes containing the words Contents, Search, and the <<< >>> (called browse buttons) - are alternate ways of moving from topic to topic.

Selecting the Contents button will return you to the beginning of the tutorial. From here you can select topics from the reference list.

Selecting the Back button will take you back to your previous topic. In fact, repeatedly selecting the Back button will take you further and further back, until you are at the beginning of the help file.


Starting and Stopping the Help System

If the HHELP System has been installed via the TSR program HHLOAD it is always available and can be started at any time EXCEPT when you are in Microsoft Windows. (A DOS session under Microsoft Windows is acceptable.)

You can start the Help System in two ways.

The first is by typing ALT+?. If you are running an application that has a help file, the help system will capture the screen and open the appropriate help file for you.

If the application has no help file, or if you are not running an application, a window appears listing all the available help files. You may choose one by selecting it with the mouse, or by using the keyboard (arrow keys followed by enter. The current screen is captured and the help file you chose is opened.

The second way to start is by typing a command at the DOS prompt.

To QUIT the Help System, you simply type ALT+X. You may also close all the windows by clicking on the close button in the upper left hand corner of the window border. Closing all windows shuts the help system.

See Windows for more information on manipulating windows.


Windows

All help files, data files, and the captured screen appear in windows in the help system. The windows are the boxes with double-lined borders. These instructions explain how to manipulate windows.

Changing the size of a window

Closing A Window

Moving a window

Scrolling through windows

Switching between windows

See also special commands for the secondary window menu


Moving around the Help File

Apart from selecting jumps and pop-ups, there are several convenient ways to move around the help system.

See:

Backtracking

Browsing

Contents option

Scrolling

Searching


Backtracking

To go backwards through a series of jumps you have just made, select the Back button on the help window. This will jump you backwards to where you have just been. Repeated selections of back will move you further and further back, up to limit of 100 jumps.


Browsing

To look at a series of adjacent topics, select the <<< or >>> buttons. This will take you through a series of adjacent topics. This may be useful, but there is not necessarily any logic to the arrangement. Also, moving through a help file this way will not necessarily show all of the topics.


Contents option

To go back to the first topic of a help file (the contents topic), select the Contents button.

You can scroll up and down to display long topics in windows by selecting the up and down scroll arrows on the help window.


Searching

To find a help topic by entering a keyword, select the Search button in the help window.

This brings up the search index window. It has a list of keywords that you can scroll through using scroll arrows. There is also a box for quickly entering keywords you wish to search for. When you see the desired keyword in the list, select it,  and then select from among the list of help topics that is displayed in the bottom box of the window. The topic you have selected is then displayed in the help window.


Starting HEISHelp at the DOS Prompt
Starting HHELP at the DOS Prompt

From the DOS prompt type:

HHELP

Brings up the window containing all the help files on the system as defined in the HHELP.INI file. If the environment variable HHELP= has been set (for example SET HHELP=FIRSTAID), then the named .HLP file will start automatically without using the HHELP.INI file.

HHELP /1

Brings up the window containing all the help files on the system as defined in the HHELP.INI file. Puts the screen into 50-line mode. The above note on the environment applies here also.

HHELP C:\HHELP\<ANY HELP FILE>.HLP

Starts the help system running with the help file you have selected. This option skips reading the HHELP.INI file. You can press F1 while in HHELP to pop up the menu selections from the HHELP.INI file later.

HHELP C:\HHELP\<ANY HELP FILE>.HLP <ANY DATA FILE>

Starts the help system running with the help file you have selected and also opens the data file you have specified in a window. The opened data file may be searched for keywords.


Using the Help System with Programs and Data Files

The HHELP help system is context sensitive. You can move the cursor across the captured screen window and data file windows (when they are active) to highlight words and then jump straight from those words to the correct spot in the help file.

When you come across a highlighted word:

press the RIGHT mouse button for the search index of keywords

press the LEFT mouse button to go directly to the first relevant topic containing information about those words.

For more information see:

Context Sensitivity

and

Starting HHELP at the DOS Prompt


Graphics in the Help System

One limitation of the HHELP help system is that it works only in DOS text mode, which means it cannot show graphics. Note that some DOS applications run in a graphics mode. These screens will not be captured when the help system is invoked. Some applications, such as AutoCAD, can run in both text and graphics mode. To properly capture the screens of these applications when starting the help system, make sure the application is in text mode.

For graphics display, there is an additional feature. Some text within the help file appears in magenta with a black background (see below). Selecting this text will load a graphic viewer to display the graphic image with the same name as the magenta text following the special character to identify the graphic viewer ($ here).

Your graphics images can contain information that demonstrates or supports the information in your help file.

Try this example: $IMAGE

The HVIEW.EXE program supplied as a demonstration graphics viewer program will display the IMAGE.GIF file. Remember that this will only work if you have loaded the two TSR programs AVLOAD.EXE and HHLOAD.EXE before using HHELP.

Note that if you use a graphic viewer to view a graphic from a HHELP help file, you cannot start up the help system from within the graphic viewer itself.


Available Help Files

Dont forget Windows applications have their own help systems, and that all HHELP help files can also be run from within Windows if you wish. HHELP help files are currently available to HHELP registered users for:

MS DOS

Banyan Vines Networking

AutoCad

As more help files become available, they will be made available distributed to registered HHELP users via bulletin boards and network systems, and this list will be updated.


File Menu

The File menu can be reached by typing ALT+F or by selecting it with the mouse, then selecting one of the sub-options.

Open (press O) brings up a dialog box from which the user can select additional help files to open.

Print (press P) sends the current topic to your printer.

Exit (press X) closes the help file. This does not quit the help system, however, unless all of the other windows are closed.


Bookmark

The Bookmark menu can be typing ALT+B or by selecting with the mouse. The choices presented in the window that appears may also be selected by key (the highlighted letter in the menu option you want) or mouse.

Bookmarks mark topics in the Help file that you access frequently and wish to mark for quick reference.

Goto sends you to the selected bookmark from the list.

Add creates a bookmark for the current topic

Delete removes the selected bookmark

Cancel closes the bookmark window

To change the text in a bookmark, place the mouse cursor over the topic name at the top of the window and press the left button. The cursor will be in the first column. Use the INSERT and DELETE keys or other keys to edit the text. Then use the Add button to add the book mark.


Help

The file menu can be reached by typing ALT+H or by selecting with the mouse. The choices may be selected by mouse or by typing the key that corresponds to the highlighted letter in the menu option.

How to Use (type H) calls up this help file

About gives (type A) information on the help file


Capture window menus

The capture window (and any data file windows you may open) have three menu commands.

File and Help are the same as the menu options in the help file window.

The search menu allows you to search for a particular text string or to jump to a line number.

Note also the capture window does not have a scroll bar on the side, but near the top.